"He has been carrying us all year," Barea said. "Somebody has to step up."

It might not be such a priority for the Wolves (25-35) to make up for the 26.0 points and 13.3 rebounds that Love was averaging when he was struck in the head Wednesday night by an inadvertent elbow from Denver center JaVale McGee.

The blow left Love with a mild concussion and strained neck, another in a rash of injuries that derailed a promising season for the Wolves. Love returned to the Twin Cities on Thursday night after he was hospitalized in Denver overnight for observation.

Wolves coach Rick Adelman said Love will be examined by team physicians Friday to determine the extent of his injury. The Wolves, who have lost eight straight, might be faced with the decision of shutting Love down for the remaining six regular-season games, although Adelman was not ready to think about that possibility.

"We'll have to wait and see on that," he said. "We'll have a better idea tomorrow. I haven't seen him since he left the court (at Denver).

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The NBA's new concussion policy, implemented before the season, likely will force Love to miss some games, putting Adelman and Wolves president of basketball operations David Kahn in the position of wondering if it's worth bringing him back for meaningless games.

Based on the league's policy, any player diagnosed with a concussion must complete a series of steps to confirm he's healthy enough for competition, a process that could take several days. The policy states that once a player is free of concussion symptoms, he has to go through several stages of exertion, including riding a stationary bike, jogging, agility work and non-contact drills.

If Love has no complications from those activities, he must be evaluated by a league-appointed neurologist before he's cleared to play.

The Wolves have three games in the next four days - Oklahoma City on Saturday night at Target Center, at Indiana on Monday and Memphis at home Tuesday. Depending on the process, Love might not be cleared in time to play in those three games.

"It kind of sums up our season with Kevin going down," Wolves forward Michael Beasley said. "Kevin's a tough guy. If he can play, he will.

The Timberwolves' Kevin Love is helped up off the court after a head injury against the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday, April 11, in Colorado. (Photo by Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)

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Adelman seemed to accept the grim reality that injuries have been a major factor in the team's disappointing finish. In addition to Love, the Wolves lost Ricky Rubio to a season-ending knee injury and have played a number of games without Beasley (foot, toe), J.J. Barea (hamstring, bruised thigh), Luke Ridnour (groin, knee and ankle) and Nikola Pekovic (groin, ankles).

"I haven't seen anything like this," Adelman said of the Wolves' injury troubles. "The timing of it is the worst part. When Ricky went down, we were playing well. Then we had to go on the seven-game trip out west. During that time, we lost Pek, Michael, J.J. and Luke. I don't think people really understood how much Ricky meant to our group when we lost him. Luke stepped up for awhile. Then he got hurt."

Ridnour, out since April 2 with a sprained ankle, might be in the same situation as Love. Do the Wolves really want to put them back in the lineup with the playoffs officially out of the picture?

Before Thursday's game, reserve forward Anthony Tolliver injected a dose of reality when discussing the Wolves' injury problems. Tolliver, who said he exchanged texts with Love on Thursday before Love left Denver, viewed the situation as a final chance to make an impression on the coaching staff and management before the end of the season.

"Right now we're playing for pride instead of a playoff position," Tolliver said. "And that's a good thing. It would have been really detrimental to lose Kevin if we were still in the race. For some of us, it's an opportunity."

Adelman said he has started evaluating players to help determine which ones he wants back next season. Tolliver and Anthony Randolph, two players who have had limited time playing behind Love, are prime examples.

If Love and Ridnour are sidelined for the final six games, at least Adelman will get a jump on his offseason decisions.

"Guys wondering about their minutes won't have to worry about that now," Adelman said. "We need everybody to play."